Ziplock Chicken

Someone requested the recipe. I got it from http://www.30daygourmet.com/. This is a great site for freezer recipes and information.

Ziplock Chicken

I used drumsticks, honey bbq sauce, and beer for our recipe!

--janet

Italian Mac-n-Cheese

Recipe Courtesy of Rachael Ray.

1 pound ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi

1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

2 or 4 cloves chopped garlic

12 crimini mushrooms, sliced

salt & pepper

2 T flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 10 oz sack (2 1/2 cups) shredded Italian 4 cheese blend

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

1 t hot sauce, optional

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

For sauce:

In a nonstick skillet, brown & crumble sausage. Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add EVOO, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season with salt & pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.

To mushrooms, add flour & stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce, if desired.

Cool and freeze in freezer bags.

Serving day:

Thaw sauce, combine with cooked pasta, transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler.

Yum-Oh!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 t dried basil leaves
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes with their liquid in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, water and garlic; stir until stuffing mix is moistened. Set aside.

Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish; sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with the stuffing mixture.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Recipe from The Kraft Food & Family Magazine.

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

2 pounds polska kielbasa
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup spicy mustard
1/2 cup onions

Put all in the crock pot on low for 2 hours. The recipe can be modified to save time by making the sauce and cutting up the sausage & put them both in the freezer bag.

To reheat, place in a skillet for 15 mintues until heated through. Serve with rice or eat solo!

Big-Batch Beef Sauce

We have 2 recipes for the meat sauce. This recipe is the one that Tina used for the July exchange. It can be used to make lasagna, chili, tacos, sloppy joes, as well:

4 pounds ground beef
4 medium onions, chopped
5 celery ribs, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (28 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
2 jars (4.5 ounce) slice mushrooms, drained, optional
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 T salt
2 t dried oregano
2 t dried basil
1 t pepper
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes

In a stock pot over medium heat, cook beef, onions, celery and garlic until meat is no longer pink & vegetables are tender: drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool. Transfer to a freezer bags or containers, about 2 cups each. May be frozen for up to 3 months. Yields about 15 cups total.

Recipes for Lasagna, Sloppy Joes & Taco can be found HERE.

Where's the Beef? Beef Sauce

Otherwise know as....MAGIC MEAT. Why? Because this meat filling can be adapted for three different meals.

Meat Filling:

Serving size: this amount of recipe makes enough for 3 recipes. The sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 gloves garlic, minced
3 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Add, beef and cook 5-7 minutes, until browned all over, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.

Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce & bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low & simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat & set aside. Cool & freeze.


Sloppy Joes:

1 1/2 cups of beef sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T chili powder
2 t dried basil
1/8 t cayenne pepper
4 Kaiser rolls, halved

Spoon meat sauce into a large saucepan. Add corn, green pepper, ketchup, Dijon, chili powder, basil & cayenne pepper & bring mixture to a simmer. Cook 5-7 minutes, until green pepper is soft & mixture is heated through. Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.


Beef Taco with Mango Salsa

2 cups meat sauce
2 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin
2 cups diced fresh mango
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 T minced red onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 T fresh lime juice
Salt & pepper
8 Taco shells
1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cups sour cream

Spoon meat sauce into a large skillet and add chili powder & cumin. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine mango, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season, to taste, with salt & pepper.

Can substitute you own salsa.

Lasagna:

4 cups ricotta cheese
8 ounces grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta, half of the mozzarella, egg and black pepper. Mix well.

Pour 1 cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 lasagna pan. Arrange 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce, overlapping noodles slightly to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top second layer of noodles with remaining cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and 4 more noodles. Top noodles with 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until top is golden & bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller.

Treasurer's Report for July Exchange!

I'm proud to report that our average was $134.00! Pretty good for all that food!


Download my average calculator here. You will need MS Excel to use this calculator. ;) With it, you can enter in each person's total for their OAMC purchases and it figures out who is owed money and who needs to payout money. Very handy! :)


--janet

Farmer's Casserole

3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (24 oz bag)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (3-4 oz)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (3-4 oz)
1 cup diced ham or Canadian-style bacon
(5 oz)1 4.5 oz can mild green chiles (optional)
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 beaten eggs (or 1 cup frozen egg product)
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t salt

Cooking day instructions:

Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles, and green onions. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. (If not freezing, cover and chill several house or overnight, then follow serving day suggestions.) Freeze.

Serving day instructions:

Thaw completely. Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. If you prefer extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Recipe from Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer by Martinez, Howell & Gracia.

Honey-Pecan Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 t fresh thyme, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Honey cream sauce:
2 T butter
1 T shallots, minced
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup whiskey
1 cup whipping cream
2 T honey
1 T cider vinegar
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Serving Day:
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup flour
Olive oil

Cooking day instructions:

For the chicken: Mix olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken breasts in freezer bags (I use a Foodsaver- for items like this-see button on side for ordering info), then pour olive oil mixture over chicken breasts. Freeze (lay them flat in freezer so they freezer flat)

For the sauce: Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Saute shallots in butter until tender. Add orange juice and whiskey over medium heat, and continue cooking until liquid is reduced by one half. Add cream. Continue cooking until slightly thickened. Add honey, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cool. Freeze separately. Using freezer bag method.

Serving day instructions:
Thaw chicken breast and cream sauce. Mix chopped pecans and flour together. Dredge chicken breast in flour mixture. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large skillet. Pan fry chicken breast until golden brown and cooked through. Heat sauce over low heat until warm; do not boil.To serve, place chicken on individual serving dishes and pour cream sauce over chicken breasts.

Recipe from Don't Panic-Dinner's in the Freezer by Martinez, Howell& Garcia.

Tina's BBQ Jerk

This is the basic sauce recipe:

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
3 T frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 t Caribbean jerk seasoning

Add the above sauce to 4-6 chicken breasts and freeze.

You can do the following options with the chicken:

Kabobs:
2 c pineapple chunks
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion

Cut the above into chunks and place on skewers. Grill for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, brush with remaining sauce at end.

Bake or Crock Pot:

Add the above ingredients, cook on low for 4-6 hours or 350 degrees for one hour. Serve over rice.

Caribbean Jerk Style

3 medium size white potatoes
1 or 2 medium size sweet potatoes/yams
1 large sweet or yellow onion
2-3 green onions
4 medium size carrots
jerk seasoning to taste
seas salt or white table salt, to taste
garlic pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh frozen sweet yellow corn
1 medium size lime
1 t of ground ginger
3 T of EVOO
1 T peanut butter
3 cups jasmine white rice
cashews or peanuts for garnish

Dice up potatoes, yams, and carrots into hearty size pieces set aside in cold water. Dice up all onions. Add 3 T EVOO into a 5 quart pot, add chicken pieces. Cook over a medium heat. when half way done, add onions & green onions. Saute' until golden brown. Add in 3-4 cups of water, yams, potatoes, carrots and corn. Additional jerk-curry powder may be added, to you own taste.

Season with salt, garlic powder, ginger and lime juice. After 30 minutes, stir in peanut butter, mixing well. Allow to cook another 10-15 minutes, until all vegetables are done. Prepare white rice; serve jerk-curry over rice.

July Exchange

Here is what was exchanged for our July meeting:

1. 2- 9x13 pans of Tuna Tortellini Gratin:

To prepare:

Thaw at room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Cover the dish with aluminum foil & bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until bubbly. Remove the foil and slide the dish under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.


2. 2- Honey-Pecan Chicken-you have 2 bags with 6 pieces of chicken in an olive oil & herb marinade, 2 bags of honey glaze & 2 bags of pecans.

To prepare:

You need 1/4 cup flour and olive oil.

Thaw chicken breast and cream sauce. Mix chopped pecans and flour together. Dredge chicken breast in flour mixture. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large skillet. Pan fry chicken breasts until golden brown & cooked through. Heat sauce over low heat until warm; do not boil.

To serve, place chicken on individual serving dishes and pour cream sauce over chicken breasts.

3. 2- bags of Inside-out Burgers.

To prepare:

Thaw & grill. Top with cheese, if desired.

4. 2- 8x8 pans of Brushetta Chicken

To prepare:

Thaw and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

5. 2- 9x13 pans of Farmer's Casserole

To prepare:

Thaw and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

6. 2- bags of brisket

To prepare:

Thaw and warm to desired temperature.

7. 4 bags- 1 pound and 1 bag of 2 pounds of Where's the Beef Sauce or Magic Meat

To prepare:

Can be used for lasagna, sloppy joes or tacos. Will post complete recipe.

8. 2- bags of Tina's BBQ Jerk Chicken. You have 6 pieces of chicken in each bag.

To prepare:

Can be prepare as kabobs or as a Caribbean Jerk Style. Will post complete recipe.

9. 2 bags of Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

To prepare:

Thaw and serve over rice or eat by itself.

10. 2 bags of Sausage Calzones. 8 per bag.

To prepare:

Thaw and reheat in OVEN. Dip in pizza or spaghetti sauce.

11. 2 bags of Ziplock BBQ Chicken

To prepare:

Thaw. Grill or slow cook in crockpot.

12. 2 bags of Italian Mac & Cheese.

To prepare:

Thaw. Add 1/2 or 1 pound of pasta. Top with mozzarella cheese.

-misti